It’s hardly the news Bordeaux wanted to receive with the
2015 en primeur campaign set to start
next week. The untimely passing of Paul Pontallier, Château Margaux’s Managing
Director, at just 59, leaves an enormous void in the world of wine.

A graduate of the Grignon National Agronomic Institute of
Paris and the University of Montepellier, where he earned a degree in Wine Growing
and Oenology, Paul Pontallier dedicated essentially his entire professional
career to Château Margaux and the Mentzelopoulos family. Pontallier cut a
dashing figure. Wiry, lean and always impeccably dressed, he had a natural
charm, with a radiant smile to match his sunny personality. A boyish sense of
enthusiasm, passion and the desire to transmit all he loved about Bordeaux and
Margaux were constant themes on the occasions we tasted together.

The last time I saw Pontallier was in July. Marzia and I
visited Château Margaux to see the vineyards and taste the 2012s. It was a nice
break from the typical rat race that is
en primeur. There was no rush, no appointment to run off to. We spoke about
California and Napa Valley, where Pontallier had recently vacationed. Then we visited
the new cellar and spent some time walking the vineyard. Pontallier invited me
to come back and taste the 2015s in the winter, before blending, when the wines
would have still been in separate lots. Sadly,
I wasn’t able to make it happen. “There will be time for that,” I thought. How
wrong I was.

A few months later, I heard that Pontallier had been
diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. But I always thought he would pull
through.

Paul Pontallier leaves behind a rich legacy as one of
Bordeaux’s foremost ambassadors and a true gentleman in every sense of the
word.